Rock Chain # 4: Mostly guitar players

This is something I used to do in a magazine I used to edit a couple of years ago. I took the idea from a column that used to appear on Scientific American magazine written by a British scientist called James Burke. His column was called “Connections” and consisted in relating history and science facts that were linked by a word until the cycle was finished. I just adapted it to Rock And Roll. Now, I’ll try to resurrect it every first Friday of the month here at the blog.

Queen’s guitarist Brian May is notoriously press-phobic, but he was gentle enough to write a eulogy to the great Rock writer Harry Doherty, who passed away last Sunday.

Harry was Irish and he also had a great relationship with the guys from Thin Lizzy, actually releasing a band biography in 2012, which he wrote with the band’s guitar player, Scott Gorham, who is currently preparing the new Black Star Riders album, a follow up to the hugely successful “All Hell Breaks Loose.”

“All Hell Breaks Loose” was produced by Kevin Shirley who is probably the most in-demand Rock producer right now and is practically a wingman for Joe Bonamassa.

Joe Bonamassa, who had just released a DVD of a concert he did with the great Beth Hart in Amsterdam, opened to B.B. King in 1989 when he was only 12.

B.B. King, whose film biography is narrated by no other than Morgan Freeman and will debut in theaters on May 21st, had a readily identifiable guitar style which he borrowed from names like T-Bone Walker and Blind Lemon Jefferson.

Blind Lemon Jefferson (believe it or not) was once quoted in an interview I read by Bill Steer (guitar player from Carcass and Firebird) as an influence. Steer has also another very cool project called Gentlemans Pistols and was once a guitar player with Napalm Death.

Napalm Death whose singer Barney Greenway is huge AOR fan, despite the fact that he sings in a Grindcore band with cookie monster vocals. Barney is really partial to Styx, Foreigner and Journey.

Journey who is currently on tour with the Steve Miller band and whose guitar player, Neal Schon will release a new solo album with Marco Mendoza on bass and Journey’s own Deen Castronovo on drums. However, many of the tracks were written by Night Ranger’s singer and bassist, Jack Blades.

Jack Blades was also a member of Damn Yankees, alongside Tommy Shaw and, of course, Ted Nugent.

Uncle Ted, as some people like to call him, will be out on tour again on July 3rd, again with Greg Smith on bass, Derek St. Holmes on vocals and “Wild” Mick Brown on drums.